SAN CLEMENTE : Final Vote Set on Sheriff’s Contract

The City Council will consider approving a final contract tonight to hire the Sheriff’s Department to assume law enforcement services in the community.

If approved, the $5.79-million contract with the Sheriff’s Department would save the cash-strapped city about $2.1 million during the coming fiscal year, slightly greater than previously anticipated, officials said. In comparison, it would cost the city about $7.91 million to continue operating the Police Department for the same year, according to a report prepared last week for the City Council.

For a total agreement of $5.98 million, the Sheriff’s Department would also take over dispatching duties for other city divisions, including the Fire Department.

The contract would provide law enforcement services to the city from July 2 this year to June 30, 1994.

In February, after months of emotional debate, the City Council voted to disband the 65-year-old Police Department and begin contracting for services with the Sheriff’s Department.

The council members who voted for the change said they could not ignore the savings or increases in patrols that would come by contracting services with the Sheriff’s Department, which can operate with a greater scale of economy by sharing costs with other communities already under contract.